l;o 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



L-Mav, 



Rennie in support of the Bill, " who confirms the particulars in said Report" 

 (viz. my Father's), and whose estimate ditl'ered fnmi his hv a mere fraetion, 

 being 41,843/. Ihs. My Father's original design is given in Plate VII. fij. 0, 

 and Mr. Uennie's at Plate VII. fig. 15; and the actual building, which differs 

 in height and other circumstances from either, and may he called a com- 

 pound of both, is shown at Plate XVI. Far he it from me to lake from Mr. 

 Rennie one tittle of any praise which may be due to him in connection with 

 the Bell Rock Lightliouse. This, I am sure, no one has so fully awarded to 

 him as my Father himself has done ; for both in his Account, and through- 

 out their correspondence during the erection of the Lighthouse, he invaria- 

 bly speaks of Mr. Rennie with that respect which is due from youth to age, 

 especially when, as in liis case, age is rendered honourable by professional 

 eminence. So much, indeed, was this feeling manifested, that ray Father, in 

 their correspondence, asks Mr. Rennie's friendly advice as to the renjunera- 

 tion which he should seek for his labours at tlie Bell Rock. Mr. Rennie, 

 who was at that time engaged with the Leith Docks, was, in fact, consulted 

 by the Lighthouse Board, chiefly, I have reason to believe, on my Father's 

 suggestion, as may indeed be gathered from a passage at page 445 of his 

 Account (where he speaks of Mr. Rennie having " obligingly favoured" him 

 by examining his original models). He accordingly speaks of Mr. Rennie as 

 the " Chief Engineer" with whom he made joint Reports on the subject. 

 Hut this in no measure derogatis from the truth of my statement, that 

 Mr. Stevenson first proposed and designed, and evenlualty did actually build, 

 i/ie Belt Rocit Liglithouse. Wliile, also, my Father frankly tells us, that, 

 throughout the course of the work, he advised with Mr. Rennie, it is no less 

 obvious that he sometimes differed in opinion from his adviser ; and the 

 executed work accordingly differs, as above stated, from the origin.il designs 

 of both engineers. In point of fact, also, Mr. Rennie merely furnished a 

 plan (now before me), showing the diameter of the base proposed by him, 

 ijut without any plan or section of the courses, together with an elevation or 

 pictorial representation of a Tower like Smeaton's, which (see Stevenson's 

 -i/ccown/, page 501) " are here preserved as the only plans or dratvings fur- 

 nistiedjor tliis work by that eminent engineer." If any detailed plans be in 

 your possession, they are those w-hich, at Mr. Rennie's request, were sent 

 from my Father's office, afler the execution of the work. 



The only point which needs farther explanation is, that which you speak 

 of as the difference between tlie Eddystone and the Bell Rock — viz. the ad- 

 vantage of converting the floors into connecting -ties, instead of permitting 

 them to act with a disuniting thrust ; but this, he it observed, formed a dis- 

 tinctive feature of my Father's design and model, in the year ISOO, six years 

 before Mr. Rennie's advice was asked, and is thus described by him at page 

 500 of his Account, in speaking of bis original model and design :— " Fig. 7 

 shows one of the floors, each stone of which forms part of the outward 

 walls, extending inwards to a centre stone, independently of which they 

 were to be connected by means of copper bats, with a view to preserve their 

 square form at the extremity, instead of doveiailing. These stones were also 

 modelled with joggles, side^'ise, upon the principles of the common floor, 

 termed feathering in carpentry, and also with ilovi tailed joggles across the 

 joints, where they formed part of the outward wall, as shown in this figure." 

 This subject he again notices in the body of the narrative, where he says, at 

 page 345, — "The floors of the Eddystone Lighthouse, on the contrary, were 

 constj-ucted of an arch-form, and the haunches of the arches bound with 

 chains, to prevent their pressing outward, to the injury of the walls. In 

 this, Mr. Smeaton followed the construction of the Dome of St. Paul's ; 

 and this mode might also be found necessary at the Eddystone, from the 

 want of stones in one length, to form the outward wall and floor, in the then 

 state of the granite quarries of Cornv\all. At Mylnefield Quarry, however, 

 there was no difliculty in procuring stones of the requisite dimensions ; and 

 the writer" (Mr. Stevenson) " foresaw many advantages that would arise 

 from having the stones of the floors to form part of the outward walls, 

 without introducing the system of arching. In particular, the pressure of 

 the floors upon'the walls would thus be perpendicular; for as the stones 

 were prepared in the sides, with groove andfeattier, after the manner of the 

 common house-floor, they would, by this means, form so many girths, bind- 

 ing the exterior walls together, as will he understood by examining the dia- 

 grams and sections of Plate VII." (above quoted) "with its letterpress de- 

 scription, agreeably to which he had moilelled the floors in his original 

 flesigns for the Bell Rock, which were laid before the Lighthouse Board in 

 the year 1800." 



It thus appears, that even this arrangement of the floors, which you so 

 highly value as t!ie great improvement on Smeatons's design, and for which, 

 at page 30 of your v\ork, you reiterate your claim in favour of Mr. Rennie 

 in a somewhat feebler tone, — I say it appears that even this improvement 

 was entirely due to my Father. 



The real state of the case, therefore, is simply this: — That Mr. Stevenson 

 alone built the Bell Rock Lighthouse, and that he did so after a design of 

 his own, in some measure modified to meet Mr. Rennie's views, but, not as 

 you would lead one to suppose, in respect to " the system" of tying the walls 

 by means of the floor-stones, which formed, as I have already shown, part of 

 my Father's original design in 1800. Such also is the general conclusion at 

 which the public have arrived, for they well know who built the Bell Rock 

 Lighthouse; and such was the opinion of the Lighthouse Board, who, on 

 the motion of Sir William Rae, Bart., then Lord Advocate of Scotland, 

 " resolved that a Bust of Mr. Robert Stevenson he ohtaineil, and placed in 

 the library of the Bell Rock Lightliouse, in testimony of the sense enter, 

 tained by the Commissioners of bis distinguished talent and indefatigable 



zeal in the erection of that Lighthouse." Such, above all, was the feeling 

 of your venerable Father himself, who, in a letter to my Father (in my pos- 

 session) of date " London, September 7, 1807," uses these remarkable 

 words, not more unequivocal in awarding the praise where it is really due, 

 than honourable to nini who penned them : *' Poor old fellow !" says he, 

 alluding to the name of Smeaton, " I hope he will now and then take a 

 peep of us, and inspire you with fortitude and courage to brave all diflicul- 

 ties and dangers, to accomplish a work which will, if successful, immortalise 

 vou in the annals of fame. With such perseverance as yours I entertain no 

 doubt of final success." 



I grieve sincerely to be forced to say that ynu have ventured to contradict 

 this testimony by entirely omitting the name of the original projector, with 

 whom your Father was merely conjoined as an adviser in this great work, 

 the merit of which, you must well know, consists in the original boldness of 

 the proposal to follow Smeaton's example in such a situation as the Bell 

 Rock, which is submerged by the tide to the depth of Jif teen feet, and still 

 more in its successful execution. To both of these sources of professional 

 fame you cannot possibly deny that my Father alone has any claim ; for, as 

 already shown, he proposed and reported on the work in the year 1800, and, 

 like Smeaton himself, was present on the rock during every stage of the 

 actual building of the Lighthouse. 



If this statement shall give you any new light on the history of this mat- 

 ter, and thus alter your views, I shall rejoice to receive from you an acknow- 

 ledgment of my Father's merits, and to give you in return an acquittal, in so 

 far as 1 am concerned, from the serious charge which the facts above stated 

 seem to imply. 



I have taken this matter into my own hands, because I am unwilling that 

 my Father should, at his time of life, be drawn into a correspondence of 

 this kind. I remain, &c. 



Alan Stevenson. 



II. Sir John Rennie to Mr. Alan Stevenson. 



London, 2lith January, 1R49. 

 Sir — I beg leave to apologise that absence from London, on the Conti- 

 nent, for above two months, and from which I have only just returned, has 

 unavoidably prevented me from receiving and replying to your letter of the 

 14th ultimo, and which 1 hope you will excuse. 1 have read your letter 

 through with much attention, and, in justice to the late Mr. Rennie, I feel 

 bound to say that I see no reason to change my opinion as stated in my 

 Address, and of which you complain ; indeed, I think your Father's Book 

 alone on the Bell Rock Lighthouse confirms it, where, — see Mr. Rennie's 

 Reports of the 30th December 1805, 26th December 1806, 29ih October 

 1807, 12th December 1808, 2d October 1809,— this last Report is not in 

 your Father's Book, — you will find also, in page 179, cap. iii., your Father 

 uses the following words : — " When the writer, who had now been secluded 

 from society several weeks, enjoyed much of Mr. Rennie's interesting con- 

 versation, both on general topics, and professionally on the progress of the 

 Bell Rock wor/cs, on w/iich he was cotmilted as Chief Engineer I !" That 

 excellent and able engineer, the late Mr. David Logan, who was cognisant of 

 the facts, repeatedly told me that nothing was done without being previously 

 submitted to, and receiving the approval of, the late Mr. Rennie ; in fact, the 

 w hole responsibility rested with him, as Chief Engineer, as admilted by your 

 Father, and, as such, Mr. Rennie is entitled to the credit of it. In saying 

 thus much, I shonld be extremely sorry to detract from your Father's merit, 

 as second engineer, acting under the superintendence of the late Mr. Rennie. 

 It is my intention to collect the documents together, and to print them, since 

 you have already done the same with your letter ; and I feel much obliged 

 to you for giving me the opportunity. I am extremely sorry to have any 

 difference with you upon the subject ; but, in justice to all parties, this is the 

 proper course, and if I have made any error (which 1 do not apprehend), I 

 shall have much pleasure in correcting it. — I am, &e. 



John Rennie. 



To Alan Stevenson, Esq. 



III. Jlr. Alan Stevkxson to Sir John Rennie. 



Edinburgh; January 29, 1849. 



Sir — Your letter of the 20th reached me while on the eve of starting for 

 the Solway F'rith, whence 1 have just returned. 1 lose no time in saying 

 that, as it does not contain one single fact beyond what is already given in 

 mine of the 26th to yourself, it calls for little comment from rae. To my 

 letter, which states the case truly, I therefore again refer, as proof that your 

 Father merely acted as chief or consulting engineer, and that my Father 

 actually planned and erected the Bell Rock Lighthouse; and, in particular, 

 that he alone designed what you have spoken of as the distinguishing pecu- 

 liarity of that structure. 



Your reference to your conversation with the late Mr. David Logan, for- 

 merly foreman of the masons in the Bell Rock workyard at Arbroath, and 

 afterwaids in your employ, is ill-judged; and, had you known that, in the 

 course of the operations, my Father had found it necessary to supersede 

 Mr. Logan as clerk, and restrict him solely to the duties of a foreman, 

 yuo would not probahy have referred to him as your authority on the 

 subject. 



The entire suppression of my Father's name in your allusion to the Bell 

 Rock Lighthouse, takeu in counection with the tenor of your letter, now 



